Accessing Member Methods inside a Vector

Hi guys and gals. It's been a while since I've posted here but I'm back.

I'm having some trouble with vectors, vector iterators, and vector element access. I know I've done this before but my memory is failing me apparently.

Okay here's the run down. I have a class that defines how to keep track of an item in an inventory i.e. a box. The class knows the dimensions of the box, the contents of the box, and how the box should be handled. As boxes are received, the newly created instance is pushed onto the vector.

Now I want to be able to access the elements of the vector through an iterator, which I know how to do. However I need to access certain methods of the box class when I use the iterator, not the entire instance itself. Can someone give me an example of being able to access class methods from a vector iterator or point me in the direction of something that might be able to help? Thanks in advance!

If it is an iterator over the vector, then *it is the box object, so (*it).whatever().

Now that works.

So access for members created off the stack looks like this:

(*vectorIteratorNameHere).classMethodNameHere()

What about classes that are instantiated off the heap? You would essentially push them onto the vector in a similar fashion but would the iterator access be different?

If your vector contains items from the heap, you should be using a shared pointer implementation as the container type, but other than that, it should be just like accessing members through a pointer to pointer:

(*it)->foo(); works, as should (**it).foo();

Or you could use a boost::ptr_vector, which manages the memory for you and provides a more pleasant interface.

Quote:

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Or you could use a boost:tr_vector, which manages the memory for you and provides a more pleasant interface.

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haha I like dirty code! That and I'm not too familiar with the Boost library yet. :/

But thanks for all your help guys. I'm on the right track now.